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Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, Vol. I.
John L. Stephens
Book Overview:
The year is 1838. The scene is the dense Honduran forest along the Copán River. Two men, John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, are about to rediscover Mayan civilization. Their guide, slashing through the rampant growth with his machete, leads them to a structure with steps up the side, shaped like a pyramid. Next they see a stone column, fourteen feet high, sculptured on the front with a portrait of a man, “solemn, stern and well fitted to excite terror,” covered on the sides with hieroglyphics, and with workmanship “equal to the finest monuments of the Egyptians.” Stephens records these discoveries and also his travels in Central America, where he had been sent by President Van Buren as special ambassador to the ill-fated Republic of Central America. The republic being engulfed in civil war when Stephens arrives in Guatemala, he finds himself dodging revolutionary armies while he hunts for a “legitimate government” to which to present his credentials. Catherwood, meanwhile, directs his immense artistic talent to illustrating views of Mayan architecture. Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan was a best seller in its day and has been called an “Indiana Jones” saga by modern reviewers.
The year is 1838. The scene is the dense Honduran forest along the Copán River. Two men, John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, are about to rediscover Mayan civilization. Their guide, slashing through the rampant growth with his machete, leads them to a structure with steps up the side, shaped like a pyramid. Next they see a stone column, fourteen feet high, sculptured on the front with a portrait of a man, “solemn, stern and well fitted to excite terror,” covered on the sides with hieroglyphics, and with workmanship “equal to the finest monuments of the Egyptians.” Stephens records these discoveries and also his travels in Central America, where he had been sent by President Van Buren as special ambassador to the ill-fated Republic of Central America. The republic being engulfed in civil war when Stephens arrives in Guatemala, he finds himself dodging revolutionary armies while he hunts for a “legitimate government” to which to present his credentials. Catherwood, meanwhile, directs his immense artistic talent to illustrating views of Mayan architecture. Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan was a best seller in its day and has been called an “Indiana Jones” saga by modern reviewers.
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Our experiments upon the other ladies were equally successful, and the morning glided away in this pleasant occupation.
We continued practising a few days longer; and as all our good results w. . . Read More
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Community Reviews
John Stevens and Frederick Catherwood's travels in the Maya lands became famous as soon as they were published in the mid-1850s. These travel stories intrigued readers with their detailed descriptions of exotic landscapes and enigmatic people. Stevens (US) was the writer and Catherwood (Great Britan
A must-read for those looking to travel to Yucatán.
I read this while traveling to and around Merida, Stephens was my guide!
Between his insights and Catherwood’s drawings, the Mayan culture comes to life before your eyes!
All of the places he visits are still there 150 years later.
Not to mention, it’s
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It has a lively pace, with engaging prose descriptions of the various ruins of the Maya civilization. As I read, I tried to put myself in the shoes of one of the first readers. An American or European who, until this point, believed that “true” civilization, as demonst
It takes a lot for me to give a book five stars. I'd give this one six, if I could. First, however, let me state that this book isn't for everyone. I read it because, as a student of Maya history for 25 years, it's required. I should have read it sooner. It's the true story of two men who traveled t
This book (and vol. 2) is a classic of its type -- the Victorian travel account. Stephens was in fact the American ambassador to Central America. But because the region was convulsed by revolution he spent a lot of time traveling around in search of someone to submit his credentials to. And, for wan